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03 Jun 2021
Blog Post

HBS Pilots First Impact Investing Fund

This year, HBS piloted its first student-run Impact Investing Fund, focused on investing in BIPOC-led and owned small businesses in the Massachusetts area. Since launching, the... View Details

July 2019
Supplement

Omidyar Network's Investment Decisions: MicroEnsure and Lenddo

By: Vikram S Gandhi

A team of investors at Omidyar Network explore two different investment possibilities in the budding financial inclusion space using their investment framework to consider capital alternatives available for both investments, each of which carries highly divergent... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Micro Finance; Investment; Investment Return; Investment Activism; Investment Portfolio; Microfinance; Decision Choices and Conditions; India; Philippines

February 2012 (Revised July 2012)
Background Note

The Promise of Impact Investing

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Sarah Appleby and Laura Moon

This note outlines the segments of a potential $500 billion social investment market; sectors such as housing, microfinance, health and education. The note sketches the roles of the various players and summarizes their investment perspectives. View Details

Keywords: Investment

February 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Teaching Note

The Rise Fund: TPG Bets Big on Impact

By: Vikram S Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers Brumme and Sarah Mehta

Teaching Note for HBS No. 318-041. View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Impact Measurement; Equity; Investment; Measurement and Metrics; Financial Services Industry; San Francisco

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Our Team - Impact Investments

Hill. He then earned a Ph.D. from Harvard's Economics Department. Manager Jonah H. Zahnd Manager of the Project on Impact Investments and the Social Impact Collaboratory Jonah... View Details

22 Apr 2024
Research & Ideas

When Does Impact Investing Make the Biggest Impact?

The idea of supporting social change has propelled impact investing assets to more than $1 trillion. But what if those funds aren’t as impactful as investors expect? Recent... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

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Contact Us - Impact Investments

Contact Us Contact Us If you are interested in learning more about Impact Investments, please fill out the form below. All fields required. Your Name* Preferred Email Address* Your Affiliation* Inquiry* View Details

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Research Design - Impact Investments

Research Design Research Design The Project on Impact Investments uses multi-method research to build insight that is both expansive in its focus and detailed in its analysis. We combine the study of the... View Details

April 2018 (Revised September 2024)
Background Note

Background Note: Managing and Measuring Impact

By: Shawn Cole, Vikram S. Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers Brumme and Radhika Kak

Keywords: Sustainable Investing; Impact Measurement

August 2022 (Revised November 2024)
Case

Boston Impact Initiative: Investing in Local Change

By: Emily R. McComb, Amy Klopfenstein and Mel Martin

In fall 2021, Aliana Piñeiro, impact director at Boston Impact Initiative (BII) discovered that an entrepreneur the organization was considering for an investment had failed to disclose pre-existing debt with another lender. Although the business scored highly on BII’s... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Investment; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Relationships; Business and Community Relations; Society; Social Issues; Wealth and Poverty; Wealth; Poverty; Risk Management; Financial Services Industry; North and Central America; United States; Massachusetts; Boston

02 Nov 2020
News

Special Report on Impact Investing

17 Jul 2020
News

Impact Investing Won’t Save Capitalism

Keywords: Alan Schwartz and Reuben Finighan

2007
Report

Aggregating Impact: A Funder's Guide to Mission Investment Intermediaries

By: Mark R. Kramer and Sarah E. Cooch

Despite the wide range of impact investment intermediaries that are available and the advantages they can offer, many funders remain unaware of this growing trend to deliver both social impact and financial returns. This study from 2007 provides an overview of these... View Details

Keywords: Financial Intermediaries; Foundations; Impact Investment; Development Economics; Mission and Purpose; Investment; Strategy

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17 Mar 2014
News

Impact Investing: Patience, Please

Keywords: venture philanthropy; social enterprise; impact investing; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles; Finance

15 Oct 2019
News

Advancing China’s Impact Investing Ecosystem

As a second-year student, Cissy Chen (MBA 2019) worked with Jingsheng Huang, managing executive director of the Harvard Center Shanghai, to organize an impact investing conference in Shanghai. (photo... View Details

October 2024 (Revised November 2024)
Case

SWEN Blue Ocean: Impact Investing Goes to Sea

By: Vikram S Gandhi and David Allen

In August 2023, SWEN Blue Ocean, a €170 million impact fund that invested in startups contributing to ocean sustainability, faced a critical investment decision. Part of SWEN Capital Partners, an €8 billion, Paris-based private equity fund, Blue Ocean was co-founded in... View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology; Finance; Capital; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Investment; Investment Funds; Science-Based Business; Financial Services Industry; France; Paris; Italy

June 2020
Teaching Note

Generation Investment Management

By: Vikram S. Gandhi and Sarah Mehta

This teaching note provides guidance for teaching the case “Generation Investment Management” (820-033), which looks at the challenges facing a sustainable investment firm. View Details

Fast Answer

Field Course: Investing for Impact

Where can I find information to help me with my course work? Pathways to Business Created by HBS faculty Andy Zelleke , and delivered via an interactive and video-led online experience, Pathways to Business features five relatable leaders at early stages in their... View Details

September 2024
Case

Myeloma Investment Fund

By: Kyle Myers and Scott Sawaya

This case explores a critical decision facing the Myeloma Investment Fund (MIF) as it evaluates two investment opportunities aimed at accelerating a cure for multiple myeloma. The MIF, a venture philanthropy fund, must choose between two distinct paths. One option... View Details

Keywords: Venture Philanthropy; Biomedical Research; Science Bassed Business; Investing For Impact; Innovation ＆ Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Science-Based Business; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry